Tech that could have prevented Tesla's Autopilot crash is coming in 2018

The NHTSA is currently investigating a crash that claimed the life of Joshua Brown. According to Tesla, he was driving his Model S along the highway with the Autopilot feature engaged. When a tractor trailer crossed his path (presumably at an intersection) the Model S didn't apply the brakes -- it tried to drive right under the trailer.

Both Tesla and Mobileye say it's because the Autopilot system is designed to recognize the front and rear ends of vehicles so it doesn't crash into them -- not necessarily the sides. From the Tesla statement: "Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied."

Mobileye agrees -- "This incident involved a laterally crossing vehicle, which current-generation AEB systems are not designed to actuate upon" -- but the Tesla partner says a new feature, "Lateral Turn Across Path (LTAP)," is coming in 2018. It's a feature seemingly designed for the exact scenario that claimed Brown's life.

Mobileye says LTAP will be a part of European safety ratings starting in 2020. The fact that Mobileye is working on a self-driving BMW for 2021 makes this particularly relevant.

While it's not yet clear whether Tesla's Autopilot system was responsible for Brown's death, both companies agree that it wouldn't have prevented this accident. Hopefully, the developers will think up future potentially deadly scenarios ahead of time, instead of addressing them later in the roadmap.

In the meantime, you'll probably want to keep your hands on the wheel and your foot near the brake every time you cross an intersection.